(1242) διαθήκη①遺囑②聖約diathēkē dee-ath-ay-kay;
1) a disposition, arrangement, of any sort, which one wishes to be valid, the last disposition which one makes of his earthly possessions after his death, a testament or will
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Some translation confusion arises here, however, because the Greeks used the word diatheke in the sense of "testament." Thats because a testament in Greek culture, at least at that time, included several nuances that made it different from the Hebrew concept of covenant.
First, in Greek culture, a diatheke—a testament—could be changed at any time by the testator while the testator was still alive. The testator could make up his last will and testament and then get irritated at his heirs and write them out of his will. And that continues to this day, for we know that people are sometimes disinherited, or written out of the will of a friend or family member.
But thats significantly different from a diatheke—a testament or covenant—made by God. When God makes a covenant with His people, He can punish them for covenant breaking, but He never cancels the covenant promises He has made.
但是,這「聖約」翻譯裡有些混亂,因為希臘人在「遺囑」的意義上也使用了”diatheke”一詞。那是因為至少在當時,希臘文化的遺囑包含了一些差別意義,使其與希伯來「約」的信仰不同。
Another difference between the Greek understanding of diatheke as a testament and the Hebrew understanding of berith as a covenant is that in the Greek world, the benefits of the testament, or diatheke, did not accrue until alter the testator died. Obviously, when God makes a covenant, His people dont have to wait for Him to die o inherit the blessings of that covenant, because Hes incapable of dying.
~ DR. R. C. SPROUT